Mobile merchants are an increasingly prevalent phenomenon. Many traditional stationary merchants (e.g., restaurants, grocery stores, department stores, and the like) are opting to sell goods and services at locations other than their usual place of business. For example, some restaurant owners now operate food trucks in addition to their stationary dining venues. Food trucks are often more cost-effective than restaurants, and the ability to reach customers in numerous locations can provide owners with substantial financial benefit.
Mobile merchants typically “set up shop” at different locations on a day-to-day basis. Consequently, awareness by potential customers of a mobile merchant's location can be an important factor in driving sales. Thus, a mobile merchant may desire a mechanism for notifying consumers of the merchant's location in real-time. Further, mobile merchants may want to provide instantaneous and dynamic coupons to potential customers. Such coupons may further increase sales revenue. In the case of mobile merchants that deal in perishable goods, instantaneous coupons may help reduce the amount of unsold goods that must be discarded at the end of the day.
Moreover, in some circumstances, entities other than consumers may want to be aware of a mobile merchant's location. For example, a stationary merchant (e.g., a restaurant) may want to be notified if a mobile merchant (e.g., a food truck) is conducting transactions nearby. In response to such a notification, the restaurant can take remedial measures to prevent losing sales to the food truck. As another example, a mobile merchant that deals in one type of good (e.g., food) and another mobile merchant that deals in a complimentary type of good (e.g., beverages) may want to be made aware of each others location so that the merchants can collaborate by setting up shop at the same location.
Embodiments of the invention address the above problems, and other problems, individually and collectively.